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Q&A With 'Modern Family' Actor Eric Stonestreet

The 'Modern Family' actor is devoted to his dog. Plus, how he stands up to cancer.

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What are your worst habits with Coleman?

"I followed The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete, and I was really strict with him the first six months, so he knows I'm the alpha in the relationship. If an emergency comes up and I don't get home in time to let him out, and he absolutely has to go No. 2, he always does this in the guest bathroom. We recently moved into a new house, and he's already figured out where the guest bathroom is."

Do you ever give him people food?

"If I'm having beef or something he can eat, I'll throw some on the patio when he's not looking and let him scavenge for it. But I never give him anything from the table or hand it to him."

What's your routine when you come home from work?

"Typically Coleman meets me at the door, I drop off my keys, he does his business, and he runs around a bit. In the old house, when I'd go on big auditions before Modern Family, I'd tell Coleman that I was going off to find work so I could get him a bigger yard. So when we left that house for the last time, I had an emotional moment. I told him I made good on my promise to him. I'm happy I could do that."

Who wakes up whom in the mornings?

"With Modern Family, I go to work so early that I usually have to wake him. I wake up at 5:15, and he's always astonished -- face hair matted down -- like, 'Are you kidding? What have I done to you that you are waking me up this early?'"

Does he come to the set with you?

"He has, but it kind of feels like a jail to him because he has to stay in the trailer. He travels with me sometimes, but I don't like to disrupt his routine. It's not normal for a dog to hop on a jet and go to 35,000 feet."